Catching up: Mission Beach

From the 9th to the 12th, I hitchhiked from Airlie Beach to Townsville and finally to Mission Beach. Featured in the following photos are baby wallabies, fan palms, a cicada, and my wonderful hosts Minke and Greg. Greg is the one wearing the bug.










I'll post a series of travel photos to catch you up with the December part of my journey. I arrived in Mission Beach around December 11.

You can see in the last photo how talented Minke and Greg's daughter is. Her name is Joseine and she painted her backyard. It's not the typical house and flowerbed picture. She included a picture of a cassowary, which is a rare giant bird. It's spotted quite often in Mission Beach, however. It is as tall as and sometimes taller than humans. And, it attacks by jumping up and kicking out. Also pictured is Mats, the little boy with the half-on Santa suit, who wouldn't change out of his Santa suit. And, it was sometimes 90 degrees Farenheit.

Mission Beach was one of my favorite places to visit, not just in Northern Australia, but in considering my trip as a whole. Minke fosters baby wallabies, and her husband and three children were delightful to be around. In the state of Queensland, I encountered such foreign-to-me behavior, such as racism, so I appreciated being around people who reminded me of Eugeneans -- open, trusting, kind, and caring of plants and animals and people.